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tv   ABC World News Now  ABC  September 20, 2010 2:05am-4:30am EDT

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scare. we learned from her that doctors examined her and declared her in good health. jim sciutto, abc news, new york. >> and iran's president ahmadinejad is in new york ahead of the u.n. general assembly this week. he insisted his government does not want an atomic bomb and iran is only seeking peace and a world free of nuclear weapons. ahmadinejad also challenged the u.s. to accept that iran is playing a major role in the world. results of afghanistan's weekend election could be delayed for weeks because of a ballot fraud investigation. at least 4 million people voted. that's far below the number of voters in last year's presidential election. a top u.n. official says there are serious concerns about the legitimacy of the voting. afghanistan's president called it a solid step for democracy. and the taliban is behind dozens of attacks to disrupt that election. at least 30 people were killed, most of them civilians. as mike best children were not >> reporter: no one knew his
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name or age. there was no time for that. army medics were only told the taliban mortared hit village on election day and shrapnel cut into his skull. in a spasm of violence meant to disrupt balloting, insurgents had claimed a victim not old enough to vote. another boy's wounds were less serious but he was in shock and also in need of immediate help. 80 miles away, general steve townsend listened as reports of insurgent attacks poured in. >> five iraqi villages. >> reporter: townsend set out to see for himself. in a village of zormat, only 60 people voted. a taliban threat scared them away, said one villager. another man, an elder, had his own explanation. american-led forces had killed too many civilians and people did not support this new government, he said. townsend emphatically disagreed. >> nine out of ten civilian
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casualties caused by the taliban. and you know i'm telling the truth. >> reporter: a truth lived by two young boys and the american medics fighting to save him. the chinese may be interested in owning part of general motors. gm has planned its initial public stock offering for mid-november. there are reports an automaker owned by the chinese government wants to buy gm various. the treasury department says there may be multiple foreign investors but there is no comment by gm. while the world's most famous landmarks went up in flames, but it was all in the name of art. >> a virtual fire engulfed rome's colosseum as 100,000 people watched. the fake flames were the work of a husband and wife team. they used the world's biggest projectors to make it look like fire was burning through the colosseum. >> the couple said the goal of the $700,000 art project was to
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spark debate about the fragility of cultural heritage sites. what a scene. >> i can only imagine walking by that thing. it doesn't look that real to me. i think when you really look at it you'd think, there's no flames on the outside. >> it's still cool. don't dampen dreams, vinita. >> sorry. creative husband and wife. >> there we go. we'll be back with more. let me tell you about a very important phone call i made. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement nsurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to " 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying .up to thousands of dollars...
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as we mentioned, iran's about the is in new york for the u.n. general assembly. >> he spoke exclusively with christiane amanpour on abc's "this week" and that tops our look at the sunday talk shows. >> from all across our world to the heart of our nation's capital, abc's "this week with
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christiane amanpour" starts now. >> the united states is very pleased that you have released sarah shourd, and the secretary of state hillary clinton has said that she wants the other two, josh and shane, to be released also. a humanitarian gesture. >> translator: surely the islamic public of iran took a humanitarian measure and released one of the three individuals who entered our borders, miss sarah shourd. this was a huge humanitarian gesture. now, you may be aware that eight iranians are illegally being detained in the united states. so i believe that it would not be a mistake to ask that the u.s. government should make a humanitarian gesture to release the iranians who are illegally arrested and detained here in the united states. >> mr. president, i understand
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that the iranians, many of them, have been convicted of various sanctions-busting and arms-busting. are you saying you're holding the two americans as hostages for the release of the iranians here? >> translator: no, but how would you know that those iranians are criminals? are you a judge? >> from nbc news in washington, "meet the press with david gregory." >> do you think that republicans are poised to retake at least the house and would you like to see them do that with the current slate of candidates and some of the ideas? >> i don't know. the polls tell us that the republicans are poised to take over the house. that wouldn't break my heart. i wouldn't go into a funk. frankly, it might be good for the president to have the republicans owning one of the two bodies of our congress. because then they have responsibility. you can't just say no to everything, you can't just sit around beating up the president.
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but the president also has to i think shift the way in which he has been doing things. i think the american people feel that too many programs have come down. there are so many rocks in our knapsack now that we're having trouble carrying it. i think the president has to, like a razor blade, just go right after the single issue that is upper most in the minds of the american people, and that's employment. >> what do you think has happened to president obama? he comes into office, very high expectations, he has the big support among independents, a lot of republicans i think also voted for him. >> i think he was shocked at the intensity of the republican opposition. but they learned from my first two years that if you just say no, even though people hate it, you get rewarded for it. because it discourages the
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democrats and it inflames your base. so they're doing just what they did in '93 and '94. and so far it appears that they're being rewarded for it. and i think that it disoriented him for a while. and he just kept trying and kept trying. i also think he believed that if he accomplished a lot on the legislative front, that would be reflected in a better political climate. the problem is there's a huge lag time once you get in a deep economic hole between digging out of it and having people feel it. and so i think, you know -- look, bob, if the unemployment rate were 5% we wouldn't be having this discussion. >> again, a look at the sunday morning talk shows. what people are talking about today is not who was on the shows but who wasn't. the tea party favorite christine o'donnell who won the delaware senate race, the underdog, everyone anticipated her being on two of the sunday morning talk shows. senate primary, i should say,
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excuse me. she canceled at the last minute. >> they're saying could be linked to this video bill maher put out from "politically incorrect" where she dabbled in witchcraft. he's saying he put it out there, i'll release a clip every week until you show up on my show. >> she's saying it's scheduling conflicts. >> never dull in politics. why dennis quaid is in trouble again with police. >> how j. lo's personal drama could become very public on "american idol."xy
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you know, our first story in "the skinny" today, you cannot write drama better than this. of course by now everyone knows jenny j. lo is going to be the new judge on "american idol." guess who's going to audition? one of her ex-husbands. >> pathetic. >> the sticker is not only going so perform for her, he's going to perform one of her own songs and he's apparently an excellent singer. in case you don't recognize that guy, his name is ojani noah, a former cuban waiter, married to
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her just under a year. they have had a horrible relationship in the sense that after they broke up there's been a bitter court battle because he basically wanted to release a film about his life with j. lo that reportedly contained some raunchy footage of them together, and she fought tooth and nail to get it off. now they're saying when the show is in los angeles on september 22nd, he is going to be singing, like i said, one of her own songs. he says apparently he is going to go to the other contestants and say, which of jenny's songs do you think i should sing? >> that is so weak and so pathetic. why would he do that, though? publicity, that's what it is. >> they say he's a fantastic singer. how is she going to rate him? how can you not be bias? it's your ex-husband. >> she really can't sing. that's another issue. but i won't -- i love you, j. lo. interesting story here. kind of weird here. randy quaid and his wife get arrested over the weekend. saturday afternoon, apparently the owner of the home where the couple used to live, they called police to say the quaids are in this house, they're living here
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illegally, on top of that they're wrecking the joint. up to $5,000 in damage. apparently they owned the home years before, they got back in, kind of crashing there, kind of trashing the place. they were booked with i think felony burglary here. and then this is not their first brush inñr the law. ran up a $10,000 bill. then left without paying it. they said, sorry, we thought we could pay at a later time. the felony charges about defrauding an innkeep wear dropped except except for the wife. randy got out. a weird story. crashing their own place, trashing it. i didn't realize the quaids were out there like that. >> i remember the second time. this new one thinks they may be on the downhill slide. >> remember eddie from the national lampoon christmas vacation? weird. >> if you are a big new jersey housewives fan there's bad news for teresa's husband joe. >> oh-oh. >> going to jail for ten days. yeah, if you watch the show at
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all, he was sentenced for -- not sentenced. he was charged with driving under the influence after crashing his car into a telephone pole. they're saying he's doing jail time not because of that incident, because he had a suspended license. he will go to jail. his last name is not in the background for the -- you know, going to jail. the arrest report. >> season's over but the drama continues. jersey, the people from jersey. real quick here, apparently i make no secret of my love for the kardashians and their reality tv series. apparently this inmate who's locked up in jail in pennsylvania is trying to sue saying he was forced to watch the two series. one kim kardashian can she and chloe and kelly go to miami. he won $75,000 in damages from having to watch the show. >> i want a piece of that too. [ woman ] nine iron, it's almost tee-time...
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here are some stories to watch today on abc news. one of the toughest drunk driving laws in north america goes into effect today in canada's british columbia. first-time offenders could face criminal charges and up to $4,000 in fines and fees if they refuse a breathalyzer test. the u.n. general assembly meets today with representatives from 192 countries expected. one big topic, worldwide poverty. lady gaga is among the activists today demanding a repeal of the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. they will rally in portland, maine. finally this half hour, turning off the lights. this week we say good-bye to a symbol of men ingenuity. >> ge will literally stop making the old-style bulbs to make way for more efficient ones. jeremy hubbard sheds a little light on the story. >> reporter: the bright idea that illuminated the world is reaching a less than glowing end. this week, ge is shuttering this plant in winchester, virginia,
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its last u.s. factory producing plain old incandescent lightbulbs. new energy standards will ought but ban the bulbs. most of which are made overseas. seems the invention that thomoh edison perfected 130 years ago is flickering and fading. >> this is edison's private experimental room at the laboratory. one of the things he was working on a lot in the late 1880s and early 1890s were ways of improving the electric lamp. >> reporter: edison historian paul israel says the great inventor would be torn about the change. >> on the one hand, he would have been disappointed. on the other hand, edison was always somebody kind of looking forward. one of the things he was always very interested in was more efficient ways to generate electricity. so he would have seen that as the future. >> reporter: the incandescent bulb might be edison's most important innovation. notorious for getting by on a
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few hours' sleep, he wanted to transform the world into a 24-hour culture by lighting up the night. but the old incandescent bulb is inefficient. compact fluorescents use nearly 75% less energy and last ten times longer. even those could soon be obsolete. the future, l.e., did. these bulbs barely use any energy, they can last 20 years, they don't even need a standard fixture. imagine your wall as a light source. lighting from your coffee table or your floor. it is the mood lighting of tomorrow. and maybe one day with all that technology, they can replicate the nostalgic warm glow of those old bulbs we ygrew up with. jeremy hubbard, abc news, west orange, new jersey. >> hope those bulbs last awhile. >> it would be scary if they suddenly went out.
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island emergency. hurricane igor blows into bermuda. the dangerous conditions. then, prayer politics. the president goes to church while a tea party candidate's questionable past is now posted on youtube. and, splashy bashes. fun in the sun in las vegas. it's monday, september 20th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> a huge, huge fan of the city of vegas. love that story. all about the pool. >> stick around. in-depth news. >> you don't like vegas? >> no, no, no. stick around. >> good morning, i'm rob nelson. >> i'm vinita nair. hurricane igor pounded bermuda overnight, uprooting trees and knocking out power. >> the category 1 storm is moving away from bermuda. abc's david kerley is there and has the latest.
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>> it's quite a different situation here than it was just a couple of hours ago. you can feel that the winds are calming a little bit. and this storm has -- the bulk of it has already moved past the island. it was more than 12 hours of just being battered by these really strong winds that were pounding at the windows and heavy rain. that has all ceased. it's still breezy outside, still windy outside, but nothing like what we saw starting yesterday morning. it's amazing how big it was with the clouds and the winds associated with it. and hours ago we were out in it and it was clearly really strong. and this was the worry here, that this huge storm came so close to this small little island. within 40 miles, brushing right alongside it and moving on. they were really worried it was going to be a category 2 or 3 storm. it came in as a category 1 as it passed bermuda. it was just so long that the
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heavy winds and rain were pounding the island. loss of electricity to a good part of the island. no reports so far of any serious damage. but first light will tell us how much igor actually did to bermuda. >> thanks to abc's david kerley. forecasters are monitoring a new tropical wave in the atlantic. it developed overnight. it could become tropical storm lisa as early as today. it's still too far away to tell if it might pose any threat to land here in the u.s. now here is a look at the rest of your weather. up to 3 inches drenched abilene, san antonio and brownsville, texas. showers and thunderstorms in new mexico and colorado. stormy also from montana to minnesota. and some showers from seattle to portland. >> 69 in billings. 95 in colorado springs. 86 in albuquerque. around 70 from fargo to detroit. 88 in kansas city. mostly 70s in the northeast. 93 in atlanta. 91 in new orleans. the american hiker released
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from an iranian prison is back in the u.s. this morning. sarah shourd says she is grateful to be free. >> shourd says she's also worried about her friends still being held in iran. >> reporter: rob, vinita, good morning. sarah shourd arrived in washington on a flight from dubai. she drove here to new york and in her first public comments on american soil, she said she was grateful to be free but she was in no mood to celebrate. looking strong and healthy, sarah shourd thanked the iranian government for her release and appealed for the freedom of her fiance, shane bauer, and their friend, josh fattal. >> my disappointment in not sharing this with shane and josh was crushing. >> reporter: the mothers of her fellow captives are seeking a meeting with the iranian president ahmadinejad while he's here for the u.n. general assembly. >> we're hoping that we get one. >> reporter: the long ordeal of the three americans began in july of last year when they were arrested for allegedly crossing the border from iraq. they were accused of being
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spies. if convicted, bahher and fattal could spend up to ten years behind bars. >> i just can't even imagine how painful the experience that they themselves have had inside prison -- >> reporter: iran's president hinted in an exclusive interview on abc's "this week" the americans could be released in exchange for iranians imprisoned here in the united states. >> translator: so i believe that it would not be mistake to ask that the u.s. government should make a humanitarian gesture to release the iranians. >> reporter: that raises concerns the two american prisoners are being used as bargaining chips and may not be released any time soon. still, everyone hopes one humanitarian release will be followed by others. the iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is in new york all week for the u.n. general assembly. there's nothing official on his schedule that would indicate a meeting with the mothers of the two detained americans. they say they want to steer clear of politics and meet with him on humanitarian levels. they say they want to appeal to
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him as mothers. vinita, rob? police in germany are searching for answers after a fatal shooting there. that's after a chain of very violent events at a hospital and a nearby apartment complex. first an explosion in the apartment building killed two people. then a woman who was seen running from that blast opened fire inside the hospital. she killed a hospital staff member, then was killed herself during a shoot-out with police. religion seeped into the political discussion as the president made a rare trip to church. and tea party candidate christine o'donnell is trying to down play remarks she made about practicing witchcraft. here's john hendren. >> reporter: for any other president, it's an unremarkable scene. the first family's block-long stroll to the tolling bells of st. john's church. for president obama, it's national news. he hasn't been to church in washington since easter. one in five americans think, wrongly, he's muslim. the president's dismal poll numbers are also a policemen for
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fellow democrats who fear the party faithful might sit at home on election day. for republicans the problem isn't too little excitement, it's too much. that excitement is being generated by the tea party which is knocking out established republican candidates and giving democrats a chance at races many had written off. the latest example, delaware, where a little-known tea partier named christine owe done took down a republican goliath, 18-year congressman mike castle. she was supposed to appear on two sunday talk shows but canceled leaving her colorful and controversial statements repeating in an unanswered loop on the internet. >> i dabbled in witchcraft. one of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar. >> reporter: some establishment republicans are waging open warfare with her and other tea party insurgents. >> she can't simply ignore it. there are serious questions that have been raised about miss o'donnell's background character statements and previous actions. >> reporter: later she did respond telling a gop picnic, how many of you didn't hang out
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with questionable folks in high school? another civil war within the gop is breaking out over alaska's senate seat. tea party rival and is now a write-in candidate. labeling the tea party ruthless carpet baggers. >> you have the tea party express, this california-based group, come in at the last minute in a campaign, run a mud-slinging, smear -- >> reporter: in a year when oddsmakers predicted massive losses for the party in power, democrats in alaska, delaware and else-where see new hope. john hendren, air force base newabc news, the white house. it's been 26 weeks since the oil disaster began in the gulf. crews have now finished drilling a relief well into the damaged one and have sealed it with cement. 206 million gallons of oil polluted the gulf before that well was temporarily capped back in mid-july. there are plenty of questions this morning after a police scare involving a religious sect in southern california. it started when police found evidence that seemed to indicate a planned mass suicide.
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this morning doctors are evaluating the group leader's mental health. chuck sivertsen reports. >> reporter: the small group of five adults and eight children was a break-away sect from a local church described as cult-like by a local sheriff. all el salvador ran immigrants, led by a 32-year-old woman marisol chicas. members found notes suggesting the group may be planning a group suicide. >> in essence they indicated there may be a journey to the next life. but there was allegory call references. perhaps to jesus. perhaps to we want to visit our deceased relatives. things like that. >> reporter: police said the notes never mentioned pass suicide but based on the fears of the relatives they launched a wide search, bringing in off-road vehicles and deputies on horseback. then as a police spokesman was giving a briefing, word came that the group had been found. >> ladies and gentlemen, we just found them. >> alive? >> yes, they're alive and well
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and they are at a park here in the antelope valley. >> reporter: the members seemed to resent the attention they got. >> you see me? i'm okay, my son, the dogs, everybody's okay. >> reporter: telling police they had told their spouses what they were doing and had done it before. >> i don't know, they overreact because we didn't call them. >> you left the cell phones because? >> i don't want to interrupt me when i'm doing my jesus stuff. now it's the city better-known for beer. this weekend they were getting wasted or paste with something squishier. >> 200 people took to the streets of milwaukee to get down and dirty with rotten tomatoes. the fourth annual tomato romp. it is a ten-minute food fight that left everyone covered in rotten tomatoes. >> the warm-up was a bloody mary contest that dragged on for hours adding a little sauce, of course, before the big fight. >> we'll be right back.
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small vermont town where a 78-year-old woman disappeared more than a week ago. >> police are looking for clues in the case and they are not ruling out the possibility that the grandmother was kidnapped. here's jeremy hubbard. >> reporter: 100 volunteers from as far as connecticut and cape cod joined the search this weekend, helping police and the fbi comb a 25 square mile area. scuba divers checked a nearby quarry. still no sign of the missing grandma. >> anybody who has information
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relative to the case that can be helpful, please come forward. >> reporter: the mystery began last weekend when a friend came to pick up pat o'haggan for a rug-hooking meeting. her car still in the driveway. >> there's no reason to believe that she's wandered off on her own. >> reporter: the family says pat isn't forgetful. >> she doesn't have a boyfriend, and isn't wealthy so there's no financial motive for her abduction. in fact, they've been racking their brain trying to think of anyone who doesn't like her. >> we've been looking but we can't find anybody. >> reporter: in sheffield, a quiet vermont town of 700, missing persons signs are posted. while owe hagan's children cling to memories of an active senior who cherished her family. >> it's very important to us. >> reporter: police have now spent days conducting interviews, following up on leads, and they plan an aggressive search again. >> we've been very busy.
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the public is continuing to give tips and we're following up every lead we can. >> reporter: they're desperate to track down this well-known, well-liked widow. jeremy hubbard, abc news. >> police in this case are now offering a $5,000 reward for any information. hopefully they can find this elderly woman. >> as jeremy mentioned she is completely mentally alert so this is a frightening situation for that huge family. >> weird what could have happened to her. leave it to las vegas to set some interesting trends in entertainment. >> the party town is really making what, that's right, a splash hello, i'm alan mulally, president and ceo of the ford motor company. in an average week in the u.s., thousands of babies are born prematurely. i am proud to be one of the national co-chairs for the 2010 march for babies. together with the u.a.w., we are committed to raising awareness and funding from volunteers like you. we are confident that, with your help, we can walk together toward a healthier future for our nation's babies.
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register today at marchforbabies.org. with summer winding down and the cooler fall weather coming most of the country has said good-bye to pool parties. but not las vegas. >> sin city is the party capital and now people are heading there more for the pool parties than the gambling. here's ryan owens.
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>> reporter: it's never been tough to find a good party in sin city. >> vegas, whoo! >> reporter: these days the biggest one happens to be at 2:00 on a sunday afternoon. every sabbath, thousands flock to the pool at the hard rock hotel and casino in las vegas for a day-long party called rehab. think "jersey shore" desert style. >> night life ain't nothing. >> really? >> it's all about the pool party. >> all about the pool party. >> we've found more girls at the pool party than at the club. >> beautiful people. >> reporter: on a typical sunday, rehab draws nearly 4,000 people. you know a party is popular when it gets its own reality show. rehab has one on trutv. if imsaying is the sincerest form of flattery, rehab must be
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feeling pretty good these days. >> you don't have a pool, you're not going to be relevant. >> reporter: here in the middle of the desert, where 120 degrees is as commonplace as the slot machine, the party has suddenly and inexplicably moved outdoors. during the hottest hours of the day. >> you've got people come out here, they come for the night life. during the daytime there was nothing for them to do. people don't really want to come out here and gamble. the younger generations, them to come out and party. what this party did was give them a place to go. >> reporter: and to spend. even in this sluggish economy, rehab's revenues are up 10% from last year, up a whopping 135% from four years ago. >> the club's a club. the pools are where everything's happening now. in the last two years it's really changed because these hotels have sunk millions of dollars into these pools. when you look at one pool that just opened, encore beach club, they spent like $75 million on that pool, it's just incredible. almost like baking a cake.
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you need different layers. the most important layer is your sprinkling of pretty people. we have a team of people that go out and find good-looking models. the landscaping. the cabanas. the music is very, very important. there's different layers how to make a great pool party successful. >> you forgot drinks. i have a feeling that's pretty important. >> people like to drink at these pools, sometimes a bit too much. >> reporter: we met mark at one of caesar palace's eight pools. five of them new this year. the resort just finished a $60 million expansion of just its pools. >> nobody invests $40 million, $70 million in a pool just to get a small return. >> reporter: how much revenue? you do the math. >> just to come in, you're looking at almost $40 to $50 a person. just to get you in. you don't have anywhere to sit or put your towel. if you want a daybed or cabana, you could be looking anywhere from $10,000.
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>> reporter: some of those cabanas could be nicer than your living room. that too comes with a twist. swim-up blackjack, anyone? only in vegas can you gamble in a pool and under a waterfall. if you're looking for a quieter scene, the options are dwindling. at the newman drin oriental hotel the pool feels more like a spa. think fancy fruit popsicles and foot massages. but in vegas, this is the exception. this is increasingly the rule. from celebrity favorite wet republic at mgm grand, to towel beach at the venetian, to maraya at mandalay bay. these mega resorts have placed their bets on the next generation of customers. and it's paying off big. >> this is what we came for, to relax. >> the pool, that's why we came. >> the pool. >> you're not here for gambling, you're not here for the night
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life? >> usually, yes. this time, no. >> everybody's partying, you're in the water, it's so much better than going to the clubs at night. >> reporter: i'm ryan owens poolside in las vegas. >> vegas is my spiritual mecca. i love that town. that looks like so much fun. >> incredible, gambling by the pool. >> i like it, can't be bad. >> i was just there, i wish i had known about rehab. apparently i did know. >> oh! there you go! we had a great weekend! >> wow. i like your tribal tattoo. >> i didn't notice that. diabetics on medicare! i'm a diabetic and i want you to know over 230,000 u.s.
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"world news now" delivers your "morning papers." >> we start "morning papers" with something i never thought was possible. you can spray paint clothing on, which i know that part's not surprising. but this spray paint actually turns into real clothing. take a look at this. it's pretty unbelievable. it's a liquid clothing spray that hardens on the body and turns into not only a garment but a reuseable garment. they say it's small fibers mixed with polymers to join them together to keep the fabric in liquid form in the can, then when you spray it out it becomes a real shirt. how crazy is that? they say the spray may be used in the future to create garments, medical dressings or upholstery for furniture. how cool would it be if we could have that spray paint. >> there we go. let me fit into it. >> it can be yours for eight easy payments of $29.99. >> look at that.
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oh, man. willis likes that. that's good, that's good. here's another funny story. you hear those horrible stories about drug cartels. we still are good. here's what these guys to use to help them out in the cartels. parrots. apparently they use them. 1,700 parrots have been captured so far, seized by officials. basically the drug guys are using them to train as look utes to warn you if police or authorities are on their way there. lorenzo the parrot, he was not arrested but taken into the care of animal officials in colombia. but literally, the police are aware these parrots are sending out alerts. the sound, the parrot is saying, run, run, you're going to get caught, that's what this thing is saying. >> run, run!
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>> run, run, you're going to get caught. that's what. >> singing like a bird. >> singing like a bird. >> this is pretty unbelievable. this woman is the next crocodile dundee. she's on a trip to south carolina, she's hoping for a ten-foot gator. she says she lucks out and that is what she ended up catching. it's 5'5", weighs over 115 pounds. when i say catching, listen to what this woman did. she's 48 years old, it was a two-hour titanic battle. she shot the thing eight times. that didn't work. it was a .22 caliber gun. she delivered the coup de grace by severing the beast's spinal column with a knife. >> this is like a little woman. she's not that big. >> send some of our shirts for she's not that big. >> send some of our shirts for free. thank you dear, very much.
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nature's nightmare. hurricane igor slams bermuda this morning. the dangerous conditions. then, dramatic disappearance. >> we just found them. >> the religious sect that gave police a scare. and, "insomniac theater." from ben affleck's bank robbery to the facebook-era documentary. it's monday, september 20th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> the third week in a row i did not have a great time in the theater, you did though. i'm starting to get jealous. >> the good side is neither of us have caught bedbugs in new york theaters. one of these movies is really excellent. >> i forgot about that. good morning, i'm rob nelson. >> i'm vinita nair. hurricane igor is pounding bermuda with fierce waves and pelting rain this morning. >> the storm weakened to about
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75 miles an hour. but igor is expected to veer northeast, away from the u.s., later today. david kerley joins us by phone from bermuda. >> reporter: good morning, rob. it's quite a different situation here than it was just a couple of hours ago. you can feel that the winds are calming a little bit. and this storm has -- the bulk of it has already moved past the island. it was more than 12 hours of just being battered by these really strong winds that were pounding at the windows and heavy rain. that has all ceased. it's still breezy outside, still windy outside, but nothing like what we saw starting yesterday morning. >> david, we're looking at some images of that rain just coming in. of course, we saw your report last night on "world news." you looked like you were almost blown over. it did affect a big section of the american east coast, even though it now seems to be sort of moving off, didn't it? >> reporter: it did. it's bringing rip tides along the coast. because this is just a massive
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storm, vinita. it is huge. if you took it and overlaid it over the united states it would cover a good one-third of the united states. it's just -- it's amazing how big it was with the clouds and the winds associated with it. and hours ago we were out in it. and it was really, really strong. and this was the worry here, that this huge storm came so close to this small little island. within 40 miles, brushing right alongside it and moving on. they were really worried that it was going to be a category 2 or 3 storm. it came in as a category 1 as it passed bermuda. but it was just so long that the heavy winds and rain were pounding the island. loss of electricity to a good part of the island. no reports so far of any serious damage. but first light will tell us how much igor actually did to bermuda. >> our thanks to abc's david kerley in bermuda this morning, thanks. forecasters are keeping a close eye on a tropical wave off
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the cape verde islands. they say it could eventually become tropical storm lisa but it is too soon to tell where this storm will go and if it could threaten the u.s. and now to the rest of your monday forecast. heavy rain in south texas from san antonio to brownsville. thunderstorms along the western edge of new mexico and colorado. stormy in montana and north dakota to minnesota. west in the pacific northwest. >> 60s in seattle and portland. 77 in salt lake city. 86 in albuquerque. 71 in the twin cities. 85 in omaha. 69 in detroit. 70s from boston to baltimore. 90s from dallas to atlanta. iran's controversial president has arrived here in new york ahead of the united nations' general assembly. mahmoud ahmadinejad says "the future belongs to iran." he's now challenging the u.s. to accept that his country does play a major role in the world. he insisted that his government though does not want an atomic bomb and iran is only seeking peace. president ahmadinejad also
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said he was pleased about the release of american hiker sarah shourd from a prison in tehran. shourd expressed gratitude as she spoke to reporters yesterday but she again denied that she or her two fellow hikers were spying, claiming their arrest was just a huge misunderstanding. >> if we were indeed near the iran/iraq border, that border was entirely unmarked and indistinguishable. >> shourd says she only feels one-third free because her fiance, shane bauer, and their friend, josh fattal, remain in prison. police in germany are searching for a motive in a fatal shooting. it happened at a hospital and a nearby apartment complex. first an explosion killed two people in the apartment building, then a woman who was seen running from the blast opened fire inside the hospital. she killed a hospital staff member and she herself was later killed in a shoot-out with police. the leader of a religious sect in southern california is being held for a mental evaluation. over the weekend she scared authorities by possibly leading
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her group into a suicide pact. the group, which included eight children, says nothing was wrong. mike von fremd reports from palmdale, california. >> reporter: 70 deputies, some on horseback, frantically searching over 700 miles of southern california. fearing that the group may have been planning to take their own lives. when they were found praying in a park, there was a joyous moment of relief. >> ladies and gentlemen, we just found them. >> alive? >> yes, they're alive and well, and they are at a park here in the antelope valley. >> reporter: what caused such concern is the leader left behind a purse containing letters that said the group was going to meet jesus. the adults left personal belongings such as deeds to homes and even cash. their relatives immediately reported the group as missing and warned police that they feared their loved ones may be preparing to harm themselves. >> they said good-bye to their living relatives. they indicated that they were going to the next life, if you
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will. and that's essentially, i'm not quoting exactly, paraphrasing, but that's essentially what they want. >> reporter: that immediately brought back fears of the cult at heaven's gate near rancho santa fe, california, in 1997, when 39 people took their own lives. california police were relieved to find all 13 members of this group praying in a public park. >> and they're alive and well. i was just given that update. that is the best news of the day. >> reporter: the adult members of the group insist they were never missing and it was all a misunderstanding. >> we are okay. you see me, i'm okay. my son, my dogs, everybody's okay. >> you left your cell phone? >> i don't want them to interrupt me. >> reporter: officials say the group broke no laws but the leader is undergoing psychological evaluation. members say they often pray early in the morning and
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intentionally leave their worldly belongings behind in hopes that one day, they will miraculously be taken to heaven. mike von fremd, abc news, palmdale, california. now to news we hate to hear in new york, a bedbug infestation has closed the flagship nike town store here in the big apple. as shoppers were turned away over the weekend after the creepy critters were discovered inside. nike is doing everything it can to eradicate the problem and expects the store to reopen soon. bedbug infestations recently closed a fifth avenue clothing store. >> my husband and i were turned away from that store, we saw the sign. scary. ready, set, balance. a mass display of speed and grace. >> more than 100 competitors took to the streets of brussels to see who would be crowned belgium's fastest waiter. each contestant had to carry a tray with three glasses and a bottle of wine in one hand for one and a half miles spilling as
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little wine as possible. >> came in first place for the second straight year. his prize-winning tip, $500 in cash. >> that's a hard-earned tip. >> i used to be a waiter and that is hard, having spilt an entire bottle and two glasses on a couple before, on a first date. >> send the dry cleaning bill right here to "world news now." stay with us. hó after using roe for a while, i went to my stylist
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and she said hair was growing back... i was like, yes, this works... [ male announcer ] only rogaine is proven to regrow hair in 85% of guys. puhh puhh puhh putt and that's it. [ male announcer ] stop losing. start gaining. n honking. puhh puhh puhh putt and that's it. a short time ago, this woman suffered from around his house. these people chose freedom over restrictions. independence over limitations. they chose mobility. they chosehe scooter store. and this is the team of mobility experts who made it all happen. ii great news, you've been approved for payment. dr. cruz, i'm calling on behalf ofmarie stanford. and they can make it happen for you. hi, i'm doug harrison, if you're living with limited mobility, call the scooter store today. i promise, no other company will work harder to make you mobile or do more to ensure your total satisfaction. i expected they'd help me file some paperwork with
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in sports this morning, a scary moment during a florida marlins game. a piece of a broken bat punctured chicago cubs player's chest. tyler carvin was heading from third base to home when he was hit. he's now in stable condition. michael vick is back in a very familiar role. he started as quarterback for the philadelphia eagles on sunday. it's his first start since 2006 before his conviction, of
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course, on those dogfighting charges. vick threw two touchdown passes leading philly to victory over the lions. 35-32. tragedy struck a texas high school football team this weekend when a star quarterback died during the game. >> the gifted athlete hoped to one day play football for the university of texas. dan harris has the story. >> reporter: friday night after throwing his second touchdown pass, senior quarterback reggie garrett of west orange high school in texas collapsed on the sidelines. garrett appeared to have suffered a seizure and was unresponsive. rushed to the hospital, he was later pronounced dead. >> just a big loss. everybody's going to be -- it's a tragedy. >> reporter: what isn't clear is if the seizure may have been a pre-existing condition which was never flagged as being severe. garrett's death will now be investigated. according to the cdc, high school athletes account for an estimated 2 million injuries, 500,000 doctors' visits, and 30,000 hospitalizations annually. this past friday, 16-year-old
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antonio rovas collapsed on his high school track, running a routine drill. he was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead of apparent heat exhaustion. and last week, hayward dennison of central catholic high school of oregon scored the winning touchdown. moments later, dennison felt his heart racing. >> i got back up and i was trying to breathe a lot more. >> reporter: then he collapsed of a heart attack. his heart stopped for about two minutes before a nurse in the stands helped revive him. turns out he has a heart condition. something doctors previously diagnosed as asthma. his father is now fighting to mandate heart screenings for all high school athletes. >> i want this a law. i won't stop. i'm going to push it that no other family has to go through it. >> reporter: dan harris, abc news, new york. >> the coach canceled the team's next game, giving them time to mourn. >> having grown up in texas, football is such a way of life especially in these tiny towns.
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not only does it affect his team and the people who knew him, it affects the entire community. so this story is a story to us that passes the next day. for them this is someone they'll never forget too. stopping gang violence before it starts. >> an innovative approach in one very dangerous neighborhood. the results when we come back.
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welcome back. gang violence and chicago have been synonymous for decades. in a time when the nation's violent crime rate is down, chicago's is up. >> it's so bad it's literally being called an epidemic. chicago's action plan to stop all the bloodshed. >> reporter: on chicago's west side, two young women are bickering over a man. one of them threatens to call in reinforcements to settle the score.
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>> i'm going to call my girls. >> reporter: but this man, napoleon english, knows such petty squabbles can quickly turn violent in neighborhoods infested with gangs and guns. >> all i'm asking is take the opportunity -- >> reporter: napoleon is a violence interrupter, paid about $30,000 a year to defuse such fights. >> a young lady got shot, 82nd and coleman -- >> 19-year-old man shot -- >> this is a hard job, trying to stop killings on a regular basis. >> reporter: he's part of a group called cease-fire, trying a novel approach to slow the bloodshed in cities like chicago. the idea behind cease-fire is to keep minor arguments from becoming deadly ones. isolating the epidemic before it spreads. treating violence like a public health crisis. instead of merely a crime problem. here in the angle wood neighborhood, tensions are running high after another fight between two girls, gangs and
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their weapons. 13-year-old lucy got maced. >> every day, man. you need to be serious, man. we've got to -- we've really got to communicate and get better -- >> reporter: cease-fire gets their families together. >> whoa, whoa! everybody stop. >> reporter: to keep their silly spats from boiling over into bloodshed. >> she's going to commit me, they're not going to go back on their word -- she got her daughter. her daughter is going to come back and retaliate. >> reporter: in cases like this, expectations of revenge fuel the violence. listen so lucy's father. >> coming in, it's going to be some real shooting, some real gang banging, and we've got
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enough people -- >> reporter: the cease-fire workers are assigned to work chicago's meanest streets. most are ex-cons and gang bangers. some like hardy have taken bullets themselves. >> actually came out right here. >> went in where? >> went in my back. it was a wake-up call. >> reporter: a wake-up call initiated by a cease-fire worker who begged hardy not to kill the man who'd shot him. >> he got in my head and made me realize that me trying to retaliate would be nothing but selfish. i let him live my life, went on to live my life, trying to do better by joining cease-fire and it's working out the best for me and my kids. >> reporter: that its interrupters are rough around the edges may actually give cease-fire more credibility on the street. fred seton stepped in to stop this man from shooting a teen who'd stolen tvs from his car. >> i'm mad, irritated. i really wanted to hurt him, you
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know what i'm saying? in the middle of me hurting him, fred came and actually like literally came in the middle of us. like calm down, man. >> what would have happened if you weren't there? >> somebody got shot, ain't no question. >> i probably would have shot him. >> really? >> yeah, i would have. fred saved me. >> reporter: shootings and killings are down as much as 70%, where the interrupters are active. but they cover only slivers of the city, and in the toughest neighborhoods, violence is so ingrained -- >> how many people have been shot at? >> reporter: and guns so pervasive -- >> how many people have access to guns? >> reporter: it's clear that even cease-fire faces an uphill fight. >> she can't ask herself. >> reporter: later in the cease-fire office, the interrupters are pleading with
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those two girls and their families not to fan the flames of revenge. >> i'm begging y'all. i don't even know y'all. please leave it alone, y'all, please. >> reporter: finally, this grudging promise. >> if they threw with it, i'm through with it. >> you through with it? >> reporter: in the end, lucy's uncle throws his arm around her rival and gives her a hug, the tension broken. the transmission of a potentially violent contagion stopped in its tracks, at least for now. i'm chris bury in chicago. >> authorities are taking this seriously. just on wednesday, 22 arrests there just on gun and drug charges alone. they're trying to put a dent in this but it's a huge problem. >> to say the least. the impressive thing you glean from that piece is it's not just reaction, it's about being proactive.
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and time now for our monday tradition, "insomniac theater" time. i saw the documentary, alleged documentary, "catfish." you had a much better time, ben affleck's new hit "the town." >> $23.8 million, ben affleck is back and this movie is phenomenal. the movie takes place in charleston, massachusetts, which is basically a city, it's a lower-class city where there are more bank and armored car robberies than anywhere else in the world. you follow one group of robbers who basically bungle a robbery at the beginning and take a female hostage. they safely release this hostage, then they have to follow her to see what she knows. they're pursuing other robberies, all in the process trying to not get caught.
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>> if it were up to me and they gave me two minutes and a wet towel, i would personally asphyxiate this half-wit so we could spring you up on a federal and one, end this story with a bag on your head, a paralyzing agent running through your veins. but i did want to say one thing. you're here today so i can personally tell you that you are going to die in federal prison. so are all your friends. >> it is co-written and directed by ben affleck, and the cast is amazing. jeremy renner from "the hurt locker." very well acted. i give this 4 kerneled out of 5. and it's worth seeing. it's not a typical bank robbery movie. you know how they have the same cliches. >> i'm jealous. you saw a great movie for the third week in a row, i did not. still some debate whether this is real, an actual documentary or not. the plot is simple. this guy is an artist, connects through facebook with this family based upon his art, gets
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the hots for the older sister, goes to find her, track her down in michigan, the whole story is this is not what he expected at all. take a look at the buildup to the relationship. >> hey, megan? hey, it's me. >> hi, how are you? >> your voice is not at all what i expected. no, it's -- it's -- it's, uh -- it's a terrific voice, i just -- i don't know. i guess you never really think of a voice when you know somebody. in a certain way. >> all right, 2 1/2 kernels. whatever you do, do not believe the marketing. this is not some suspenseful mystery, this is not "blair witch." mystery, this is not "blair witch." 2 1/2 kernels out of 5. happy birthday! ♪ you make me feel so young. ♪ you make me feel so spring has sprung ♪
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you're not fooling anybody, you know. as their national spokesman.
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during that time, i have met some of the most amazing men and women, who were injured in the war on terror in iraq and afghanistan. i have visited the hospitals and have witnessed the enduring spirits of those recovering. these brave warriors have suffered catastrophic injuries. many are missing limbs or have been badly burned. some will suffer through the effects of traumatic brain injuries for the rest of their lives. regardless of your position on the war, one thing is for certain -- these heroes and their loved ones deserve our help. no wounded veteran should bear the weight of his or her sacrifice alone. through the wounded warrior project, we can enrich these war veterans' lives with adaptive programs that will get them back into life's mainstream. damon: log on to woundedwarriorproject.org to find out more about this fine organization that is helping these returning injured veterans and their families with their new lives. the greatest casualty is being forgotten. let's make sure this doesn't happen to my brave friends. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you.
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bermuda's blast. hurricane igor hammers the island this morning and sends pounding surf to the east coast. then, at last. the american held in an iranian prison arrives home and gets encouraging news from doctors. and, light switch. the end of an era for edison's lightbulbs as the industry turns on new options. >> edison was always somebody kind of looking forward. >> it's monday, september 20th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> you heard that right, they're going to stop making the incandescent lightbulb. >> weird, huh? >> a fixture for all of us. >> times change. save energy, be more green, earth-conscious these days. including the lightbulb. >> that's right and you will see what the future is. >> all right. stay tuned for that story. >> good morning and thanks for being with us this monday. i'm vinita nair. >> i'm rob nelson.
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to the news now. schools and businesses are closed today in bermuda as the cleanup begins after hurricane igor. >> the storm brought high winds and pelting surf to the island. so far it is moving away from the island. david kerley is there. good morning, david. >> reporter: rob and vinita, say hello to igor. this is it. sustained winds, 60, 70, gusts up to 85 miles an hour. the center of the storm, about 40 miles to our west, passing right by bermuda. it's a category 1 hurricane. but we are seeing the back side of it. the dirty side. the northeast quadrant. it's the strongest part of the storm. they're used to strong storms here but this one is nearly a direct hit. >> it's spectacular but it's going to be probably absolutely horrifying. >> reporter: we were out earlier. not surprisingly nearly a ghost town as folks batten down in their homes. it's going to be here for a long time, what do you think? >> it's going to be tremendous. you've got to get in. >> reporter: they were worried
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this was going to be a historic hurricane. one they'd never seen before. downgraded to a category 1, the hope now is that these winds don't do the kind of damage they were fearing. we'll find out as soon as the sun comes up. rob and vinita? >> our thanks to david kerley. igor is expected to move to the northeast, away from the u.s. later today. the powerful storm is still kicking up huge waves and rip currents all along the east coast as far south as ft. lauderdale. forecasters say the storm is causing swells that range from 4 to 8 feet. the dangerous conditions could last throughout the day. there's even more trouble in the tropics on top of that. a tropical wave has developed near cape verde islands. if it gains enough strength it could turn into tropical storm lisa and even form into a hurricane. forecasters say it's too soon to tell if it will threaten any land. you here is the rest of your monday forecast. wet in south texas. heavy rain from abilene to corpus christi.
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rain in the southern rockies. showers and thunderstorms from the upper midwest to montana. some showers from seattle to portland. >> 73 in boise. 83 in sacramento. 106 in phoenix. indianapolis 83. kansas city 88. 76 here in new york. 93 in atlanta. 89 in miami. 90s from dallas to new orleans. the american woman released from prison in iran is back in the u.s. this morning. sarah shourd says she is grateful for her release but says it is not yet time to celebrate. jim sciutto reports from new york. >> reporter: on her first day home on american soil in more than a year, sarah shourd expressed happiness for her own freedom but sadness for her friends left behind. >> my disappointment in not sharing this with shane and josh was crushing. and i stand before you today only one-third free. >> reporter: her very first words were directed at iranian leaders, thanking them for her release. but also pleading that she and her two friends, josh fattal and shane bauer, were innocent of allegations they entered the country illegally as spies. >> if we were indeed near the iran/iraq border that border was entirely unmarked and indistinguishable. >> reporter: shourd exchanged
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emotional hugs with the family of her friends, who clung tightly to photographs of shane and josh. you must have asked how they're doing. >> yeah, well, you know, some of the things i started to learn is how difficult it is emotionally and psychologically. to not know their status. to be told that they're going to court and then not go to court. >> reporter: pressed on the hikers' case by abc's christiane amanpour this weekend, president mahmoud ahmadinejad demanded the u.s. release eight iranians he said are held in u.s. custody. >> mr. president, i understand that the iranians, many of them, have been convicted of various sanctions-busting and arms-busting. are you saying you're holding the two americans as hostages for the release of the iranians here? >> translator: no, but how would you know those iranians are criminals? are you a judge? >> reporter: there was also good news from sarah shourd. she was released for health reasons. the possibility of a cancer scare.
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we learned from her that doctors examined her and declared her in good health. jim sciutto, abc news, new york. >> and iran's president ahmadinejad is in new york ahead of the u.n. general assembly this week. he insisted his government does not want an atomic bomb and iran is only seeking peace and a world free of nuclear weapons. ahmadinejad also challenged the u.s. to accept that iran is playing a major role in the world. results of afghanistan's weekend election could be delayed for weeks because of a ballot fraud investigation. at least 4 million people voted. that's far below the number of voters in last year's presidential election. a top u.n. official says there are serious concerns about the legitimacy of the voting. afghanistan's president called it a solid step for democracy. and the taliban is behind dozens of attacks to disrupt that election. at least 30 people were killed, most of them civilians. as mike boettcher reports, children were not spared. >> reporter: no one knew his name or age. there was no time for that.
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army medics were only told the taliban mortared his village on election day and shrapnel cut into his skull. in a spasm of violence meant to disrupt balloting, insurgents had claimed a victim not old enough to vote. another boy's wounds were less serious but he was in shock and also in need of immediate help. 80 miles away, general steve townsend listened as reports of insurgent attacks poured in. >> the enemy said send rockets to the villages. >> reporter: townsend set out to see for himself. in a village of zormat, only 60 people voted. a taliban threat scared them away, said one villager. another man, an elder, had his own explanation. american-led forces had killed too many civilians and people did not support this new government, he said. townsend emphatically disagreed. >> nine out of ten civilian
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casualties were caused by the taliban. and you know i'm telling the truth. >> reporter: a truth lived by two young boys and the american medics fighting to save them. mike boettcher, abc news, afghanistan. the chinese may be interested in owning part of general motors. gm has planned its initial public stock offering for mid-november. there are reports an automaker owned by the chinese government wants to buy gm shares. the treasury department says there may be multiple foreign investors but there is no comment by gm on the possible chinese investment. one of the world's most famous landmarks went up in flames, but it was all in the name of art. >> a virtual fire engulfed rome's colosseum as 100,000 people watched. the fake flames were the work of a husband and wife team. they used the world's biggest projectors to make it look like fire was burning through the colosseum. >> the couple said the goal of the $700,000 art project was to spark debate about the fragility
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of cultural heritage sites. what a scene. >> i can only imagine walking by that thing. i have to say, though, it doesn't look that real to me. i don't know that i would be -- i think when you really look at it you'd think, there's no flames on the outside. >> it's still cool. don't dampen dreams, vinita. >> sorry. >> they're trying. >> creative husband and wife. >> there we go. we'll be back with more. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement nsurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to " 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying .up to thousands of dollars...
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welcome back, everybody. as we mentioned, iran's president is in new york this week for the u.n. general assembly. >> he spoke exclusively with christiane amanpour on abc's "this week" and that tops our look at the sunday talk shows. >> from all across our world to the heart of our nation's capital, abc's "this week with
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christiane amanpour" starts now. >> the united states is very pleased that you have released sarah shourd, and the secretary of state hillary clinton has said that she wants the other two, josh and shane, to be released also. a humanitarian gesture. >> translator: surely the islamic republic of iran took a humanitarian measure and released one of the three individuals who entered our borders, miss sarah shourd. this was a huge humanitarian gesture. now, you may be aware that eight iranians are illegally being detained in the united states. so i believe that it would not be a mistake to ask that the u.s. government should make a humanitarian gesture to release the iranians who are illegally arrested and detained here in the united states. >> mr. president, i understand that the iranians, many of them,
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have been convicted of various sanctions-busting and arms-busting. are you saying you're holding the two americans as hostages for the release of the iranians here? >> translator: no, but how would you know that those iranians are criminals? are you a judge? >> from nbc news in washington, "meet the press with david gregory." >> do you think that republicans are poised to retake at least the house and would you like to see them do that with the current slate of candidates and some of the ideas? >> i don't know. the pollster administers would tell us that republicans are poised to take over the house. that wouldn't break my heart. i wouldn't go into a funk. frankly, it might be good for
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the president to have the republicans owning one of the two bodies of our congress. because then they have responsibility. you can't just say no to everything, you can't just sit around beating up the president. but the president also has to i think shift the way in which he has been doing things. i think the american people feel that too many programs have come down. there are so many rocks in our knapsack now that we're having trouble carrying it. i think the president has to, like a razor blade, just go right after the single issue that is uppermost in the minds of the american people, and that's employment. >> what do you think has happened to president obama? he comes into office, very high expectations, he has the big support among independents, a lot of republicans i think also voted for him. >> i think he was shocked at the intensity of the republican opposition. but they learned from my first two years that if you just say no, even though people hate it, you get rewarded for it. because it discourages the
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democrats and it inflames your base. so they're doing just what they did in '93 and '94. and so far it appears that they're being rewarded for it. and i think that it disoriented him for a while. and he just kept trying and kept trying. i also think he believed that if he accomplished a lot on the legislative front, that would be reflected in a better political climate. the problem is there's a huge lag time once you get in a deep economic hole between digging out of it and having people feel it. and so i think, you know -- look, bob, if the unemployment rate were 5% we wouldn't be having this discussion. >> again, a look at the sunday morning talk shows. what people are talking about today is not who was on the shows but who wasn't. the tea party favorite christine o'donnell who won the delaware senate race, the underdog, everyone anticipated her being on two of the sunday morning talk shows. senate primary, i should say,
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excuse me. she canceled at the last minute. >> they're saying could be linked to this video bill maher put out from "politically incorrect" where she dabbled in witchcraft. she's saying i had nothing to do with that. he's saying, i put it out there and i'll release a clip every week until you show up on my show. >> she's saying it's scheduling conflicts. >> never dull in politics. why dennis quaid is in trouble again with police. why dennis quaid is in trouble again with police. >> how j. lo's personal dram guy: hey, sara. ohgosh. 'so cute. how do you know him? c'mon donovan, do it like i taught ya. ve the new tattoo,ara. let's go dude. what? dude, that's sara. who's sara? the girl in the pink shirt. that's the girl i was telling you about. oh, that's sara. theater two on your left. hey sara, whatolor underwear toda
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hey sara. so, whenou gonna post something new? announcer: anything you post onanneanee. milyfriends... e ya later, sara. even not-so-friendly people.
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you know, our first story in "the skinny" today, you cannot write drama better than this. of course by now everyone knows jenny from the block j. lo is going to be the new judge on "american idol." guess who's going to audition? one of her ex-husbands. >> oh, pathetic on his end. >> the kicker is not only is he going to perform for her, he's going to perform one of her own songs. and he's apparently an excellent singer. in case you don't recognize that guy, his name is ojani noa, a
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former cuban waiter, married to her just under a year. between '97, '98. they have had a horrible relationship in the sense that after they broke up there's been a bitter court battle because he basically wanted to release a film about his life with j. lo that reportedly contained some raunchy footage of them together, and she fought tooth and nail to get it off. now they're saying when the show is in los angeles on september 22nd, he is going to be singing, like i said, one of her own songs. he says apparently he is going to go to the other contestants and say, which of jenny's songs do you think i should sing? >> that is so weak and so pathetic. why would he do that, though? >> the big question also -- >> publicity, that's what it is. >> they say he's a fantastic singer. how is she going to rate him? how can you not be biased? it's your ex-husband. >> she really can't sing. that's another issue. but i won't -- i love you, j. lo. but anyway. interesting story here. kind of weird here. randy quaid and his wife get arrested over the weekend. saturday afternoon, apparently the owner of the home where the
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couple used to live, they called police to say the quaids are in this house, they're living here illegally, on top of that they're wrecking the joint. up to $5,000 in damage. apparently they owned the home years before, they got back in, kind of crashing there, kind of trashing the place. they were booked with i think felony burglary here. and then this is not their first brush in the law. way back then they were in some resort in california, they ran up a $10,000 bill. then left without paying it. they said, sorry, we thought we could pay at a later time. the felony charges about defrauding an innkeeper were dropped at the time, except for against the wife. on probation. randy got out. a weird story. what they were doing. crashing their own place, trashing it. i didn't realize the quaids were out there like that. >> i remember the second time. this new one makes you think they may be on the downhill slide. >> remember eddie from the national lampoon christmas vacation? weird. >> if you are a big new jersey
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housewives fan there's bad news for teresa's husband joe. >> oh-oh. >> going to jail for ten days. yeah, if you watch the show at all, he was sentenced for -- not sentenced. he was charged with driving under the influence after crashing his car into a telephone pole. they're saying he's doing jail time not because of that incident, because he had a suspended license. he will go to jail. his last name is not in the background for the -- you know, going to jail. the arrest report. >> season's over but the drama continues. jersey, the people from jersey. real quick here, apparently i make no secret of my love for the kardashians and their reality tv series. apparently this inmate who's locked up in jail in pennsylvania is trying to sue saying he was forced to watch the two series. one kim kardashian and khloe and courtney taking miami series. that he developed extreme emotional distress for being subjected to their outrageous behavior. he won $75,000 in damages from having to watch the show. >> i want a piece of that too. [ woman ] nine iron, it's almost tee-time...
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here are some stories to watch today on abc news. one of the toughest drunk driving laws in north america goes into effect today in canada's british columbia. first-time offenders could face criminal charges and up to $4,000 in fines and fees if they refuse a breathalyzer test. the u.n. general assembly meets today with representatives from 192 countries expected. one big topic, worldwide poverty. lady gaga is among the activists today demanding a repeal of the military's don't ask, don't tell policy. they will rally in portland, maine. finally this half hour, turning off the lights. this week we say good-bye to a symbol of american ingenuity, the incandescent lightbulb. >> ge will literally stop making the old-style bulbs to make way for more efficient ones. jeremy hubbard sheds a little light on the story. >> reporter: the bright idea that illuminated the world is reaching a less than glowing end. this week, ge is shuttering this plant in winchester, virginia,
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its last u.s. factory producing plain old incandescent lightbulbs. new energy standards will all but ban the bulbs over the next four years, forcing millions to switch to compact fluorescents. most of which are made overseas. seems the invention that thomas edison perfected 130 years ago is flickering and fading. >> this is edison's private experimental room at the laboratory. one of the things he was working on a lot in the late 1880s and early 1890s were ways of improving the electric lamp. >> reporter: edison historian paul israel says the great inventor would be torn about the change. >> on the one hand, he would have been disappointed. on the other hand, edison was always somebody kind of looking forward. one of the things he was always very interested in was more efficient ways to generate electricity. so he would have seen that as the future. >> reporter: the incandescent bulb might be edison's most important innovation. notorious for getting by on a
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few hours' sleep, he wanted to transform the world into a 24-hour culture by lighting up the night. but the old incandescent bulb is inefficient. compact fluorescents use nearly 75% less energy and last ten times longer. even those could soon be obsolete. the future, l.e.d. these bulbs barely use any energy, they can last 20 years, they don't even need a standard fixture. imagine your wall as a light source. lighting from your coffee table or your floor. it is the mood lighting of tomorrow. and maybe one day with all that technology, they can replicate the nostalgic warm glow of those old bulbs we grew up with. jeremy hubbard, abc news, west orange, new jersey. >> hope those bulbs last awhile. >> it would be scary if they suddenly went out. darkness.
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island emergency. hurricane igor blows into bermuda. the dangerous conditions. then, prayer politics. the president goes to church while a tea party candidate's questionable past is now posted youtube. and, splashy bashes. >> the pools a a where everything's happening now. >> fun in the sun in las vegas. 's monday, september 20th. >> from abc ws, this i"world news now." >> as a huge, huge fan of the city of vegas, love that story. it's all about the pool. >> stick around. in-depththews. >> you don't like the pools in vegas? >> no, no, no. stick around. >> good morning, i'm rob nelson. >> i'm vinita nair. hurricane igor pounded bermuda overnight, uprooting trees, flooding streets and knocking out power. >> the category 1 storm is moving away from bermuda. abc's david kerley is there and has the latest. >> it's quite a different
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situation here than it was just a couple of hours ago. you can feel that the winds are calming a little bit. and this storm has -- the bulk of it has already moved past the island. it was more than 12 hours of just being battered by these really strong winds that were pounding at the windows and heavy rain. that has all ceased. it's still breezy outside, still windy outside, but nothing like what we saw starting yesterday morning. it's amazing how big it was with the clouds and the winds associated with it. and hours ago we were out in it and it was clearly really strong. and this was the worry here, that this huge storm came so close to this small little island. within 40 miles, brushing right alongside it and moving on. they were really worried it was going to be a category 2 or 3 storm. it came in as a category 1 as it passed bermuda. it was just so long that the heavy winds and rain were
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pounding the island. loss of electricity to a good part of the island. no reports so far of any serious damage. but first light will tell us how much igor actually did to bermuda. >> thanks to abc's david kerley. forecasters are monitoring a new tropical wave in the atlantic. it developed overnight. near cape verde islands. it could become tropical storm lisa as early as today. it's still too far away to tell if it might pose any threat to land here in the u.s. now here is a look at the rest of your weather. up to 3 inches drenched abilene, san antonio and brownsville, texas. showers and thunderstorms in new mexico and colorado. stormy also from montana to minnesota. and some showers from seattle to portland. >> 69 in billings. 95 in colorado springs. 86 in albuquerque. around 70 from fargo to detroit. 88 in kansas city. mostly 70s in the northeast. 93 in atlanta. 91 in new orleans. the american hiker released from an iranian prison is back in the u.s. this morning.
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sarah shourd says she is grateful to be free. >> shourd says she's also worried about her friends still being held in iran. aaron katersky has details. good morning, aaro >> reporter: rob, vinita, good morning. sarah shourd arrived in washington on a flight from dubai. she drove here to new york and in her first public comments on american soil, she said she was grateful to be free but she was in no mood to celebrate. looking strong and healthy, sarah shourd thanked the iranian government for her release and appealed for the freedom of her fiance, shane bauer, and their friend, josh fattal. >> my disappointment in not shing this with shane and josh was crushing. >> reporter: the mothers of her fellow captives are seeking a meeting with the iranian president ahmadinejad while he's here for the u.n. general assembly. >> we're hoping that we get one. >> reporter: the long ordeal of the three americans began in july of last year when they were arrested for allegedly crossing the border fm iraq. they were accused of being spies. if convicted, bauer and fattal could spend up to ten years behind bars. >> i just can't even imagine how
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painful the experience that they themselves have had inside prison -- >> reporter: iran's president hinted in an exclusive interview on abc's "this week" the americans could be released in exchange for iranians imprisoned here in the united states. >> translator: so i believe that it would not be a mistake to ask that the u.s. government should make a humanitarian gesture to release the iranians. >> reporter: that raises concerns the two american prisoners are being used as bargaining chips and may not be released any time soon. still, everyone hopes one humanitarian release will be followed by others. the iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad is in new york all week for the u.n. general assembly. there's nothing official on his schedule that would indicate a meeting with the mothers of the two detained americans. they say they want to steer clear of politics and meet with him on humanitarian levels. they say they want to appeal to him as mothers. vinita, rob?
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police in germany are searching for answers after a fatal shooting there. that's after a chain of very violent events at a hospital and a nearby apartment complex. first an explosion in the apartment building killed two people. then a woman who was seen running from that blast opened fire inside the hospital. she killed a hospital staff member, then was killed herself during a shoot-out with police. religion seeped into the political discussion as the president made a rare trip to church. and tea party candidate christine o'donnell is trying to downplay remarks she made about practicing witchcraft. here's john hendren. >> reporter: for any other president, it's an unremarkable scene. the first family's block-long stroll to the tolling bells of st. john's church. for president obama, it's national news. he hasn't been to church in washington since easter. one in five americans think, wrongly, he's muslim. the president's dismal poll numbers are also a problem for his fellow democrats who fear the party faithful might sit at
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home on election day. for republicans the problem isn't too little excitement, it's too much. that excitement is being generated by the tea party which is knocking out established republican candidates and giving democrats a chance at races many had written off. the latest example, delaware, where a little-known tea partier med christine o'donnell took down a republican goliath, 18-year congressman mike castle. she was supposed to appear on two sunday talk shows but canceled, leaving her colorful and controversial statements repeating in an unanswered loop on the internet. >> i dabbled in witchcraft. one of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar. >> reporter: some establishment republicans are waging open warfare with her and other tea party insurgents. >> she can't simply ignore it. there are serious questions that have been raised about miss o'donnell's background character statements and previous actions. >> reporter: later she did respond telling a gop picnic, how many of you didn't hang out with questionable folks in high school? another civil war within the gop is breaking out over alaska's senate seat.
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senator lisa murkowski lost the nomination to a tea party rival and is now a write-in candidate. labeling the tea party ruthless carpet baggers. >> you have the tea party express, this california-based group, come in at the last minute in a campaign, run a mud-slinging, smear -- >> reporter: in a year when oddsmakers predicted massive losses for the party in power, democrats in alaska, delaware and elsewhere see new hope. john hendren, abc news, the white house. it's been 22 weeks since the oil disaster began in the gulf. now the well that caused it has officially been declared sealed. crews have now finished drilling a relief well into the damaged one and have sealed it with cement. 206 million gallons of oil polluted the gulf before that well was temporarily capped back in mid-july. there are plenty of questions this morning after a police scare involving a religious sect in southern california. it started when police found evidence that seemed to indicate a planned mass suicide. this morning doctors are evaluating the group leader's mental health. chuck sivertsen reports.
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>> reporter: the small group of five adults and eight children was a break-away sect from a local church described as cult-like by a local sheriff. all el salvadoran immigrants, led by a 32-year-old woman marisol chicas. concerns arose when two of the members found notes suggesting the group may be planning a group suicide. >> in essence they indicated there may be a journey to the next life. but there was allegorical references. perhaps to jesus. perhaps to we want to visit our deceased relatives. things like that >> reporter: police said the notes never mentioned mass suicide but based on the fears of the relatives they launched a wide search, bringg in off-road vehicles and deputies on horseback. then as a police spokesman was giving a briefing, word came that the group had been found. >> ladies and gentlemen, we just found them. >> alive? >> yes, they're alive and well and they are at a park here in the antelope valley.
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>> reporter: the members seemed to resent the attention they got. >> we are okay. you see me? i'm okay, my son, the dogs, everybody's okay. >> reporter: telling police they had told their spouses what they were doing and had done it before. >> i don't know, they overreact because we left the cell phones and didn't call them. >> you left the cell phones because? >> i don't want to interrupt me when i'm doing my jesus stuff. >> reporter: chuck sivertsen, abc news. it's a city better-known for beer. this weekend they were getting wasted or pasted with something squishier. >> 200 people took to the streets of milwaukee to get down and dirty with rotten tomatoes. the fourth annual tomato romp. it is a ten-minute food fight that left everyone covered in rotten tomatoes. >> the warm-up was a bloody mary contest that dragged on for hours adding a little sauce, of course, before the big fight. >> we'll be right back.
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a a stery is unfolding in a small vermont town where a 78-year-old woman disappeared more than a week ago. >> police are looking for clues in the case and they are not ruling out the possibility that the grandmother was kidnapped. here's jeremy hubbard. >> reporter: 100 volunteers from as far as connecticut and cape cod joined the search this weekend, helping police and the fbi comb a 25 square mile area. scuba divers checked a nearby quarry. still no sign of the missing grandma. >> anybody who has information relative to the case that can be
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helpful, please come forward. >> reporter: the mystery began last weekend when a friend came to pick up pat o'hagan for a rug-hooking meeting. owe haggan was nowhere to be found. her car still in the driveway. >> there's no reason to believe that she's wandered off on her own. >> reporter: the family says pat isn't forgetful. >> she doesn't have a boyfriend, and isn't wealthy so there's no financial motive for her abduction. in fact, they've been racking their brain trying to think of anyone who doesn't like her. >> we've been looking but we can't find anybody. >> reporter: in sheffield, a quiet vermont town of 700, missing persons signs are posted. while o'hagan's children cling to memories of an active senior who cherished her family. >> the time she spent with us. she's very important to us. >> reporter: police have now spent days conducting interviews, following up on leads, and they plan an aggressive search again. >> we've been very busy. the public is continuing to give tips and we're following up
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every lead we can. >> reporter: they're desperate to track down this well-known, well-liked widow. jeremy hubbard, abc news. >> police in this case are now offering a $5,000 reward for any information. hopefully they can find this elderly woman. >> as jeremy mentioned she is completely mentally alert so this is a frightening situation for that huge family. >> weird what could have happened to her. leave it to las vegas to set some interesting t tnds in entertainment. >> the party town is really making what, that's right, a splash.
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with summer winding down and the cooler fall weather coming most of the country has said good-bye to pool parties. but not las vegas. >> sin city is the party capital and now people are heading there more for the pool parties than the gambling. here's ryan owens. >> reporter: it's never been
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tough to find a good party in sin city. >> vegas, whoo! >> reporter: these days the biggest one happens to be at 2:00 on a sunday afternoon. ♪ >> reporter: every sabbath, thousands flock to the pool at the hard rock hotel and casino in las vegas for a day-long party called rehab. think "jersey shore" desert style. >> night life ain't nothing. >> really? >> it's all about the pool party. >> all about the pool party. >> we've found more girls at the >> the pool is where the party is. beautiful hair, beautiful people. >> reporter: on a typical sunday, rehab draws nearly 4,000 people. you know a party is popular when it gets its own reality show. rehab has one on trutv. if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, rehab must be feeling pretty good these days.
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>> you don't have a pool, you're not going to be relevant. >> reporter: here in the middle of the desert, where 120 degrees is as commonplace as thelot machine, the party has suddenly and inexplicably moved outdoors. during the hottest hours of the day. >> you've got people come out here hoping for night life, then in the daytime there was nothing for them to do. people don't really want to come out here and gamble. the younger generations, them to come out and party. what this party did was give them a place to go. >> reporter: and to spend. even in this sluggish economy, rehab's revenues are up 10% from last year, up a whopping 135% from four years ago. >> the club's a club. the pools are where everything's happening now. in the last two years it's really changed because these hotels have sunk millions of dollars into these pools when you look at one pool that just opened, encore beach club, they spent like $75 llion on that pool, it's just incredible. creating a great party pool
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party is almost like baking a cake. you need different layers. the most important layer is your sprinkling of pretty people. we have a team of people that go out and find good-looking models. the landscaping. the cabanas. the music is very, very important. there's different layers how to make a great pool party successful. >> you forgot drinks. i have a feeling that's pretty important. >> people like to drink at these pools, sometimes a bit too much. >> reporter: we met mark at one of caesar palace's eight pools. five of them new this year. the resort just finished a $60 million expansion of just its pools. >> nobody invests $40 million, $70 million in a pool just to get a small return. >> reporter: how much revenue? you do the math. >> just to come in, you're looking at almost $40 to $50 a person. just to get you in. you don't have anywhere to sit or put your towel. if you want a daybed or cabana, you could be looking anywhere from $10,000. >> reporter: some of those
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cabanas may be nicer than your living room. drink in hand, it's time to go swimming. that too comes with a twist. swim-up blackjack, anyone? only in vegas can you gamble in a pool and under a waterfall. if you're looking for a quieter scene, the options are dwindling. at the new mandarin oriental hotel the pool feels more like a spa. think fancy fruit popsicles and foot massages. but in vegas, this is the exception. this is increasingly the rule. from celebrity favorite wet republic at mgm grand, to towel beach at the venetian, to maraya at mandalay bay. these mega resorts have placed their bets on the next generation of customers. and it's paying off big. >> this is what we came for, to relax. >> the pool, that's why we came. >> the pool. >> you're not here for gambling, you're not here for the night life? >> usually, yes. this time, no. >> everybody's partying, you're
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in the water, it's so much better than going to the clubs at night. >> who would have imagined? >> reporter: i'm ryan owens poolside in las vegas. >> vegas is my spiritual mecca. i love that town. that looks like so much fun. >> incredible, gambling by the pool. >> i like it, can't be bad. >> i was just there, i wish i had known about rehab. it seems appropriately named. apparently i did know. >> oh! there you go! we had a great weekend! >> wow. i like your tribal tattoo. >> i didn't notice that. >> i don't know what to say. can i send that to my husband? s! i'm a diabetic and i want you to know over 230,000 u.s.
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their diabetic supplies through liberty medical. and that begins with the one touch ultra 2 meter. easy to use, fast results... at no additional cost! liberty helps keep you on track by delivering diabetic supplies to your door...and filing your claims. i never feel i'm going to run out of anything. with liberty i always have someone to talk to and now they refill all my prescriptions. call now to receive a diabetic cookbook free. call to receive the one touch®ulra meter at no additional cost and find out why 230,000 u.s. doctors and over a million people with diabetes trust liberty medical. liberty, we deliver better health. call now. call liberty medical at the number on your screen.
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"world news now" delivers your "morning papers." >> we start "morning papers" with something i never thought was possible. you can spray paint clothing on, which i know that part's not surprising. but this spray paint actually turns into real clothing. take a look at this. it's pretty unbelievable. that hardens on the body and turns into not only a garmt but a reusable garment. they say it's small fibers mixed with polymers to join them together and a solvent that keeps the fabric in liquid form in the can, then when you spray it out it becomes a real shirt. how crazy is that? they say the spray may be used in the future to create garments, medical dressings or upholstery for furniture. how cool would it be if we could have that spray paint. >> there we go. let me fit into it. >> it can be yours for eight easy payments of $29.99. >> look at that.
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oh, man. willis likes that. that's good, that's good. here's another funny story. you hear those horrible stories about drug cartels. we still are good. here's what these guys to use to help them out in the cartels. parrots. they use parrots to he them out here. apparently they use them as lookout birds. 1,700 parrots have been captured so far, seized by officials. basically the drug guys are using them to train as lookouts so they actually will warn you if police or authorities are on their way there. lorenzo the parrot, he was not arrested but taken into the care of animal officials in colombia. but literally, the police are aware these parrots are sending out alerts. the sound, the parrot is saying, run, run, you're going to get caught, that's what this thing is saying. do we have that sound still? >> run, run! >> run, run, you're going to get
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caught. they think the parrot's saying. a little hard to tell from that but that's what they're saying. >> singing like a bird. >> singing like a bird. >> this is pretty unbelievable. this woman is the next crocodile dundee. if you ask me. she's on a trip to south carolina, she's hoping for a ten-foot gator. she says she lucks out and that is what she ended up catching. it's 5'5", weighs over 115 pounds. when i say catching, listen to what this woman did. she's 48 years old, it was a two-hour titanic battle. she shot the thing eight times. that didn't work. it was a .22 caliber gun. she delivered the coup de grace by severing the beast's spinal column with a knife. >> this is like a little woman. 5'5". she's not that big. >> send some of our shirts for free. >> we should, there you go.
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